Solution "Quiz"
OK, let's have a look at the words you saw in the quiz and their meanings. Not all the words are false friends.
Meine Freundin ist ein sehr offener Mensch.
open
outspoken frank ardent |
open, outspoken and frank all mean "offen".
learning tipp: Never learn synonyms (a word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another) in one go. The brain doesn't like that - and will kick one out anyway... When you have mastered one word (eg. outspoken) you can add another to your wordpower (eg frank) |
ardent = leidenschaftlich, feurig
This doesn't make sense here at all ;-) |
Mein Lehrer ist ein wirklich netter Mensch.
friendly
nice agreeable diligent |
friendly, nice and agreeable all mean "nett".
learning tipp: nice does not translate as "hübsch" ! |
diligent - eifrig, fleißig, gewissenhaft
This doesn't make sense here at all ;-) |
Er sieht verflixt gut aus.
handsome
dainty pretty likeable |
handsome = is a good word to talk about attractive, good-looking men
dainty = lecker, niedlich pretty = hübsch, not really used to talk about men likeable = false friend alarm! |
ACHTUNG: false friend alarm!
likeable is sympathisch ,nett sympathetic is mitfühlend ! |
Meine Schwester ist so selbstsicher!
self-assured
self-confident self-conscious self-assertive |
self-assured, self-confident and self-assertive all mean "selbstsicher".
self-conscious is the false friend ! |
ACHTUNG: false friend alarm!
self-conscious means unsicher |
Der kleine Junge ist so brav.
good
brave well-behaved |
good and well-behaved work both fine here.
brave is the false friend! |
ACHTUNG: false friend alarm!
brave means mutig |
Sie ist einfach dumm.
dumb
stupid foolish silly |
stupid, foolish and silly can all be used to say "dumm"
dumb is the false friend ! |
ACHTUNG: false friend alarm!
dumb means stumm It also means "dumm" - but more in informal English. |
Er ist sehr engagiert.
engaged
dedicated committed driven |
dedicated, committed and driven are all good translations for "engagiert".
engaged is of course the false friend |
ACHTUNG: false friend alarm!
engaged means besetzt (telephone); verlobt ( da ist man ja auch besetzt ;-) |
Sie ist einfach genial.
brilliant
ace genial inspired |
brilliant, ace and inspired are all good choices here.
genial is the false friend. |
ACHTUNG: false friend alarm!
genial means freundlich |
Du solltest konsequenter sein.
confused
consistent congenial consequent |
consistent is the correct translation
confused means verwirrt congenial means angenehm, sympathisch consequent is the false friend here! |
ACHTUNG: false friend alarm!
consequent means folglich, folgerichtig |
Meine Mutter wird immer so pathetisch.
emotional
pathetic dramatic emotive |
emotional, dramatic and emotive all work here.
pathetic is - you guessed it - the false friend. |
ACHTUNG: false friend alarm!
pathetic means erbärmlich, armselig |
Die Ballerina bewegt sich so graziös.
graceful
gracious grateful gracile |
graceful is the correct word here.
gracious is a false friend grateful means liebenswürdig, gnädig gracile means something like schlank, hochgewachsen (often used for animals or plants) |
ACHTUNG: false friend alarm!
gracious means angenehm, gnädig. barmherzig |
False friends - interactive 4U
Now let's practice a little! We start with simply looking for words. can you spot them all, eagle eye?